Many people who have gone to court have described the proceedings as causing them additional harm beyond the circumstances of their case.
Or that their mental health had got worse following their experience in court.
This particularly affected those involved in family proceedings.
A significant minority spoke of feeling suicidal.
The study, paid for by the Nuffield Foundation, also found an overwhelming lack of trust in the justice system.
This mis-trust extended beyond the courts to the wider criminal and family justice systems. It includes social services.
For both defendants and victims, previous negative interactions with the police also influenced their expectations about whether they would receive fair treatment elsewhere in the justice system.